Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Nothing new
So its the 27th of July and nothing is really new. Jason has an appointment with pain management on the 29th which he seems a little nervous about....keep in mind, its the 28th there now because of the time difference. Unfortunately, I'll be here in North Carolina during this appointment, but it seems like this doctor might be able to give us some much needed clarification about whats happening and when. I am so blessed to have such an understanding husband and so blessed to be able to work on school the way Auburn has allowed me to do so.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Surgery?
I haven't written in a while. I lost sight of if or why this was important to do so. I initially started this as a way for friends and family to keep in touch, but luckily, the most important people in our lives already do with or without a blog. So now this blog takes on another daunting task, keeping family in friends informed about Jason's surgery and medical care.
Jason is working as if not much is going on and hasn't been contacting people about this. I don't enjoy the task of calling 60 separate people and telling them exactly whats going on and honestly, some of the well intentioned responses can be quite offensive. So, if there are any questions - please refer to this and I'll try my best to keep it updated. Promise!
We've tried to keep this unknown by most except for our family and closest friends, but the reality is that this is not something we can keep hidden much longer. Jason has been experiencing back pains for almost 5 years now. They first started right after his 1st deployment to Iraq which ended in the Fall of 2005. He had been seeking treatment on and off for the pain, but was mostly given X-Ray's which did not show anything specifically. At one point, he was given an insole and told that one leg was shorter than the other. He then went on Deployment #2 which ended around Spring of 2007. During that deployment, his back had definitely taken a turn for the worse, so he sought medical attention again and was told that he should complete physical therapy, because nothing was showing up on the X Ray. Of course we got engaged and then married, I finished college, life went on, but there was still a pain in his back. He pushed through and did not really pursue more medical care because we trusted the doctors and what they had said to do. (Side note: Its not their fault either, there is quite a bit of protocol to go through to get an MRI and all of that stuff, as well). So Jason then went on his 3rd deployment in the Spring of 2008. Again, the back pain was still present, but we got orders to Okianwa and everything changed so quickly, I don't think we really had time to pursue proper treatment.
Once we got to Japan, everything happened so quickly. Jason went to Cambodia, I got into graduate school at Auburn University, Jason went to Australia, I was going to and from Okinawa to Alabama/North Carolina, but then Jason went to Korea. While he was there, he said the pain became unbearable and we agreed that he needed to go back to the doctor. We really hadn't wanted his back to affect his military career, but unfortunately, it has.
At this point, I had gone to Alabama to work on school work and had decided to stay home for the summer session. Jason went to the general practitioner on Camp Kinser who referred him to a specialist. Initially, they were convinced that Jason had a herniated disc and referred him to physical therapy. Originally, he could complete 20 of the exercises, but then the next week he could only complete 8 and finally, he was reduced to 4. Obviously, the doctors realized that physical therapy wasn't treating the problem so he was referred for an MRI. Jason had the MRI done on a Saturday and by Monday morning, there was an email from the doctor telling him that he needed to make sure he came to his appointment Tuesday morning. He went in and was told that in his Lumbar region he "the back of an 80 year old man" due to a lot of disc degeneration, arthritis and God knows what else. He was put on light duty and referred to a Neurosurgeon - the only one on Okianwa. The doctor recommended trying pain management first, but from what we're told, the Marine Corps has 6 months to try to improve Jason's back before they review his case to decide if he should be medically retired, medically separated or stay in and finish the next year and a half remaining on his current contract. The doctor said that once the pain management had been tried for an adequate amount of time, they would do a spine fusion surgery to fuse together 4 vertebrae in the lumbar region of his spine. (Side note: apparently, the bone won't grow properly if you smoke and the doctor had told him she would refuse to do the surgery if he was still smoking...reason #4598 of why not to smoke.) After that, he'll be in the hospital for a period of time and then home. After some recovery at home, he'd have to go to physical therapy. Then...who knows?!
As for the Marine Corps, they have a period of time to try to 'fix' him. After that, it will go before a board as to if he'll finish out his current contract or be considered for medical retirement or medical separation. Its quite a mess and a lot is changing very quickly. The neurosurgeon already said that he would not be allowed to be in the military in the future, but it seems that its up for debate to some extent.
I'll let you guys know on here if there are any changes!
Jason is working as if not much is going on and hasn't been contacting people about this. I don't enjoy the task of calling 60 separate people and telling them exactly whats going on and honestly, some of the well intentioned responses can be quite offensive. So, if there are any questions - please refer to this and I'll try my best to keep it updated. Promise!
We've tried to keep this unknown by most except for our family and closest friends, but the reality is that this is not something we can keep hidden much longer. Jason has been experiencing back pains for almost 5 years now. They first started right after his 1st deployment to Iraq which ended in the Fall of 2005. He had been seeking treatment on and off for the pain, but was mostly given X-Ray's which did not show anything specifically. At one point, he was given an insole and told that one leg was shorter than the other. He then went on Deployment #2 which ended around Spring of 2007. During that deployment, his back had definitely taken a turn for the worse, so he sought medical attention again and was told that he should complete physical therapy, because nothing was showing up on the X Ray. Of course we got engaged and then married, I finished college, life went on, but there was still a pain in his back. He pushed through and did not really pursue more medical care because we trusted the doctors and what they had said to do. (Side note: Its not their fault either, there is quite a bit of protocol to go through to get an MRI and all of that stuff, as well). So Jason then went on his 3rd deployment in the Spring of 2008. Again, the back pain was still present, but we got orders to Okianwa and everything changed so quickly, I don't think we really had time to pursue proper treatment.
Once we got to Japan, everything happened so quickly. Jason went to Cambodia, I got into graduate school at Auburn University, Jason went to Australia, I was going to and from Okinawa to Alabama/North Carolina, but then Jason went to Korea. While he was there, he said the pain became unbearable and we agreed that he needed to go back to the doctor. We really hadn't wanted his back to affect his military career, but unfortunately, it has.
At this point, I had gone to Alabama to work on school work and had decided to stay home for the summer session. Jason went to the general practitioner on Camp Kinser who referred him to a specialist. Initially, they were convinced that Jason had a herniated disc and referred him to physical therapy. Originally, he could complete 20 of the exercises, but then the next week he could only complete 8 and finally, he was reduced to 4. Obviously, the doctors realized that physical therapy wasn't treating the problem so he was referred for an MRI. Jason had the MRI done on a Saturday and by Monday morning, there was an email from the doctor telling him that he needed to make sure he came to his appointment Tuesday morning. He went in and was told that in his Lumbar region he "the back of an 80 year old man" due to a lot of disc degeneration, arthritis and God knows what else. He was put on light duty and referred to a Neurosurgeon - the only one on Okianwa. The doctor recommended trying pain management first, but from what we're told, the Marine Corps has 6 months to try to improve Jason's back before they review his case to decide if he should be medically retired, medically separated or stay in and finish the next year and a half remaining on his current contract. The doctor said that once the pain management had been tried for an adequate amount of time, they would do a spine fusion surgery to fuse together 4 vertebrae in the lumbar region of his spine. (Side note: apparently, the bone won't grow properly if you smoke and the doctor had told him she would refuse to do the surgery if he was still smoking...reason #4598 of why not to smoke.) After that, he'll be in the hospital for a period of time and then home. After some recovery at home, he'd have to go to physical therapy. Then...who knows?!
As for the Marine Corps, they have a period of time to try to 'fix' him. After that, it will go before a board as to if he'll finish out his current contract or be considered for medical retirement or medical separation. Its quite a mess and a lot is changing very quickly. The neurosurgeon already said that he would not be allowed to be in the military in the future, but it seems that its up for debate to some extent.
I'll let you guys know on here if there are any changes!
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